Kieran Ferguson

Introduction

Kieran Ferguson is a former City solicitor who was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) over a fraudulent insurance claim made after his £1,700 bicycle was stolen during a house move. Ferguson admitted dishonestly making some misleading statements, but he argued that there were exceptional circumstances — including the murder of a close friend — meaning that he should not be struck off. The tribunal rejected that argument, finding that his dishonesty was not a fleeting reaction to the theft, and ordered that he be struck off and pay costs of £20,800. The case was reported by Legal Futures in August 2026.

Background Information

Ferguson was born in 1995 and was admitted as a solicitor in 2020. He worked for the firm Ashurst from June 2021, specialising in finance. At the relevant time he held a bicycle insurance policy with Laka Bicycle Insurance, underwritten by Zurich, covering a Cannondale Systemsix bike valued at £2,500. The policy covered only the Systemsix, and photos and receipts had to be provided. Ferguson also owned a second bicycle, a Cannondale Topstone, which the report values at £1,699 — described in its headline framing as a £1,700 bike — and this bike was not covered by the policy.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The Topstone was stolen on a Sunday evening during a house move in April 2022. Within a couple of hours, Ferguson submitted an online claim for a stolen bike, along with a video. Only 10 minutes later, he amended his insurance policy online to add the stolen Topstone.

Laka referred the case to Zurich for further enquiries, and the insurer accused Ferguson of making “a deliberate attempt at fraud”, given that he stated he had changed the policy to include the Topstone ahead of the move. Zurich decided to add his details to the Insurance Fraud Register. In September 2023, Zurich reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority that Ferguson had submitted a fraudulent insurance claim relating to a Cannondale Topstone bike worth £1,699 and had made false statements in support of it.

Before the tribunal, Ferguson’s explanation was that he had added the Topstone to the policy to “assist in the administration and consideration of the claim”. The tribunal did not accept this, finding the explanation “not credible”. The SDT found that Ferguson knew the Topstone was not covered and had attempted to make the claim appear valid after the event. “If Mr Ferguson genuinely believed that the policy covered any bike up to the insured value, there was no need for him to amend the policy at all,” the tribunal said. It also found that he acted dishonestly by deliberately making untrue or misleading statements to his insurer.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Counsel for Ferguson said the facts and timeline were “substantially not in dispute”, and that the “central issue” was his state of mind when making the claim, which came in the wake of witnessing the theft. Counsel said Ferguson understood that his insurance policy provided cover “for any bike to the value of £2,500” and that the claim was “the result of a mistaken, careless, and incorrect understanding, but not a dishonest one”. In mitigation, counsel relied on matters including the murder of a close friend and what the tribunal described as a background of “a confluence of multiple significant personal stressors”.

The SDT rejected the exceptional-circumstances argument. It found that his dishonesty “was not confined to an immediate reaction to the theft, nor was it a fleeting lapse”. “It continued over a period during which Mr Ferguson had opportunities to reflect, correct the position, and tell the truth.” The tribunal added: “The fact that the dishonesty was not sophisticated and was capable of being discovered from the insurer’s records, did not materially reduce its seriousness for the purposes of the exceptional circumstances assessment.”

The SDT said the matters raised in mitigation, such as the background of “a confluence of multiple significant personal stressors”, did not “sufficiently relate to, or explain, the dishonest conduct found proved”. The tribunal “gave weight to the matters relied upon in mitigation, but concluded that, whether considered individually or cumulatively, they did not amount to exceptional circumstances”. Ferguson was struck off and ordered to pay costs of £20,800.

Current Status

Ferguson has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and was ordered to pay £20,800 in costs. According to the report, Zurich added his details to the Insurance Fraud Register. The record does not state whether he has appealed the tribunal’s decision, sought to return to the profession, or where and in what capacity he now works; the article quotes no direct comment from Ferguson himself.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The professional consequences recorded are severe: a solicitor admitted in 2020, who had worked at Ashurst specialising in finance since June 2021, was struck off and made subject to a £20,800 costs order, with his details added to the Insurance Fraud Register. The findings of dishonesty were made in relation to a claim worth £1,699, submitted in April 2022. Beyond these outcomes, the record does not describe the effect of the tribunal’s decision on his employment, his personal circumstances, or his life since the hearing.

Sources

• Legal Futures, “City solicitor struck off for fraudulent bike insurance claim”, August 20, 2026. source